XXth Century Capital (The Giant Golden Piñata) by Sebastian Errazuriz

“Wanted Design Fair commissioned Sebastian Errazuriz to create an installation to inaugurate the opening of NYC x Design. The Giant Piñata is on view to the public and scheduled to be smashed on Tuesday 20th at 5pm in Industry City, Brooklyn, NY.

‘I wanted to create a piece that could part of a celebration. Coming from South America most kids had birthday Piñatas filled with candy. It occurred to me that it would be amazing to build a giant piñata that could be hung between buildings and invite young designers to grab some sticks and have a go at it during the party.’

Sebastian is well known by the critics and the press as a ‘provocateur’ and ‘enfant terrible’. Naturally his piñata wasn’t going to be free of layered symbolism and some controversy. Titled ‘XX Century Capital’ the giant golden piñata was not only a representation of the Gold Calf worshiped in the Bible; but also had a close resemblance to the Wall Street Bull. As if this wasn’t enough, Errazuriz proposed that instead of being filled with candy, his Giant Piñata instead be filled up through the butt with real dollar bills.

‘I wanted to create a simple piece that could be part of a fun celebration and yet also offer other more interesting readings. The piece hints at the Capital system as an idol that we have worshiped for decades and is unfortunately proving to be false. There’s an urgent need for corrections to the Capital system that can offer a more fair redistribution of wealth. The cash cow needs to be smashed but we must be careful not to replace it with more of the same’.

Errazuriz’s Giant Piñata functions as a playful warning: The masses of people that will destroy the Piñata as a symbol of capital will be the same that moments later will ironically be seen scrambling to fight for the money falling out. The piece like many of Sebastian’s works offers several interpretations and here not only represents a criticism to the Capitalist system but also offers a quick portrait of how greed can swiftly affect us all.

Ultimately despite the tongue in cheek social critique, Errazuriz warns that it his piece is a celebratory work: ‘As much as I like layering and distilling concepts into simple ideas, at the end of the day, this is just one Giant Piñata that will be fun for everyone to enjoy. We will all meet on Tuesday to celebrate the incredible work created by all of the designers that will be presenting during this 2014 NYC X Design week’.”